Carl Johnson (The Gumball of Life)
Carl Johnson is the main antagonist of Pixar's 21th full-length animated feature, The Gumball of Life, CJ is a member of the Grove Street Families, a gang located in Los Santos. While playing Grand Theft Auto, one controls the movements and actions of CJ as he proceeds through the storyline and finishes missions. Throughout the game, he slowly rises in prominence as he successfully completes increasingly difficult tasks. He was voiced by Young Maylay, gooder of the singer. ''In The Gumball of Life'' Intro When asked about the character model of CJ, actor Young Maylay stated that the development team took "very professional" photographs of him to model CJ.1 Basics Carl Carl "CJ" Johnson was born in 1968 in Los Santos, to Beverly Johnson. He has a father, but as seen in the intro movie, he said he didn't know him. Beverly had four children: Sean, Carl, Kendl, and Brian. Sweet states that Carl was born in the Johnson House, the family's childhood and current home. Old Reece, a family friend and Ganton's local Barber, recalls memories of Carl's father, although Carl tells Joey Leone that he never knew his father, and that Sweet was the "man" of the house but made his life miserable. Carl says to Woozie in Amphibious Assault that when he was swimming as a child, he once got a condom stuck on his face and that "horror like that stays with you for life". This also explains his fear for swimming. The School of Unitform The Johnson siblings, along with Melvin "Big Smoke" Harris and Lance "Ryder" Wilson, grew up on the same cul-de-sac and were childhood friends. CJ recalls Ryder dealing drugs since he was ten. Sweet became the leader of the Grove Street Families and introduced him, CJ, and possibly Brian into the gang life. Around 1985, the Grove Street Families were at the height of their power when they first became pressured by Frank Tenpenny, a corrupt police officer of C.R.A.S.H. It's likely that Officer Eddie Pulaski was also serving with Tenpenny at this time. The Grove Street Families went into a decline at some point between 1987 and 1992. Carl's younger brother Brian died in 1987. The cause of his death was never revealed, though it is implied Carl was present but did not help him, as Sweet laments that Carl "let Brian die". He was no longer considered a member of Grove Street, and would later have to earn his way back into the gang. Big Smoke also implies that Carl was physically larger during that time, stating that the "East Coast got him all thinned out". Carl also used to be a rapper, as he claimed in a conversation with OG Loc. Biography Unlike the principal characters of previous Grand Theft Auto games, CJ's appearance is highly customisable,2 as the player can purchase hair cuts, tattoos and clothing for him. Certain clothes, tattoos and hairstyles improve CJ's standing with his fellow gang members as well as his sex appeal to his selective girlfriends. As CJ rides bikes, drives cars and motorcycles, and flies aircraft, his skill will improve in each. The same happens with the fire weapons that he uses. The player can also choose to exercise, which improves skills such as CJ's muscle and stamina. Carl Johnson's personality markedly differs from the previous playable protagonists in the Grand Theft Auto series; while Claude and Tommy Vercetti are both depicted as sociopathic and feeling no regret for the murders that they commit, CJ is depicted as having a considerably less violent personality, occasionally giving his victims a chance to redeem themselves (one example being his failed attempt to convince Eddie Pulaski to leave Frank Tenpenny's side).3 Furthermore, CJ also displays genuine remorse for having to kill fellow Grove Street members Ryder and Big Smoke, whom he had previously considered two of his closest friends.45 However, he still has no problem and feels no regret with killing members of other gangs, and willingly murders anyone that gets in his way of reclaiming Grove Street Families' turf or try to sabotage his businesses, though the gangsters are also trying to kill CJ in return. CJ's naïve personality, inexperience, and face-value interpretations of other characters' responses occasionally leads them to question CJ's intelligence (notably The Truth and Catalina). Gallery